Bigstone E200 LED display loses power

[Shannow]

Hi,

I'm looking for some advice on my Pro Rider Spark ebike. I bought it as a refurbished unit about 15 months ago and it's been great but the last few trips out it's developed an issue and powers off when I'm riding. If i power it back on, it sometimes comes back showing low power then cuts out again and will do this for a few restarts then shows actual power, works fine for a few minutes then cuts out again.

The display is a Bigstone E200 (http://bigstone-nj.com/node/27) and my question is whether it is likely the display is faulty and if so where can I get a simple bolt in replacement as I cannot find this unit for sale anywhere and what should i be looking for.

rated voltage: 24V or 36V or 48v
rated work current: 10mA
switch max current output: 200mA
work mode: not communication but analog signals

There appear to be five wires:
red: battery+
blue: battery+_out(power switch)
black: battery-
white: pwm_out
green: light_out


The battery is a 36v 10.4Ah unit and is showing 42.5v after an intermittent six mile ride this morning so i believe the battery is OK. The motor is a 250w rear hub Dapu

If it's not the display, what are the other likely options? I believe the controller is in the battery casing, I've not taken it apart until i have to.

Any suggestions gratefully received as I would like to get the bike running properly again.

 

[vfr400]

Something doesn't look right. The battery should only be 42.0v or lower when you start. Almost immediately, it would drop to 41v, then go down more slowly. After 6 miles it should be down to about 40v. Check the battery in your meter. When they're low, the readings go high.

If your meter does turn out to be correct then your charger is set way too high. What can happen then is that your controller wrongly interprets the battery as a 48v one, so thinks it's empty when you get to 40v and cuts off. Apart from that, the charger would be damaging your battery each time you charge it.

Step 1, confirm the accuracy of your meter and/or put a new battery in it.
Step 2, measure your charger's output voltage.

If the charger is set too high, show us a photo. Maybe there's a way to adjust it.

 

[Shannow]

Thanks, I'll check the meter battery and re measure it.

 

[Shannow]

Ok, I’ve used a different meter and fresh battery and the reading is now 40.2 which seems more in line with what you said:

 

[vfr400]

If your LCD has 36v and 48v written on it, it's a dual voltage one. either it's set to the wrong voltage in the settings, or if it doesn't have a setting, it's automatic and wrongly interpreting your battery. You can try running down your battery to around 37v or more, then reconnecting to the bike so the the LCD will identify its voltage correctly. We've had this problem a few times over the years on this forum.

 

[Shannow]

The LED is basic to put it mildly. You say run the battery down then reconnect to the bike, is there a way to do that? I initially thought I'll just go and ride it up and down for a while but then you seem to be suggesting run it down off the bike. How would that be done and my apologies if it's a daft question.

 

[vfr400]

You can run it down on the bike, but then you have to disconnect it completely, then reconnect it to reset the control panel. Also, when disconnected, you should short out the terminals on the bike to discharge the capacitor in the controller. You might get a spark when you do that, but it's nothing to worry about. Don't try to short the terminals on the battery!

 

[Shannow]

As the weather finally turned nice again I thought I'd start running the battery down. I haven't charged it and it was showing 40.2 before i left. I got to about 3 miles and it cut out but so i reset everything again and headed back. Except now I've got nothing to the motor, not firing up at all. I reset all the connections, pulled them and put them back. LED lights up fine, battery showing 80% but no power to the motor.

I got home and checked, battery was down to about 39.6v, i rechecked all the connections, all the little arrows lined up but on the stand when i rotated the pedals the motor is doing nothing.

Any thoughts? Bin the current kit and get a new rear hub kit to fit to the otherwise perfectly good bike?

Any way to test the motor? I had a look at getting to the controller but I'll need to get the drill out to remove the screws that look like their heads have been shredded, possibly why it was a refurb. However, I've had a lot of enjoyment out of it and if i need to spend a few pounds to get it right again, with some possible improvements, I'm prepared to do so as the bike and frame are still good.

 

[vfr400]

It's because your LCD thinks you've got a 48v battery.

 

[Shannow]

I appreciate your patience.

So my issue now is how to discharge a battery down to 37v when it won't run the motor at all so i can't do it that way. I was going to use it to charge my phone using the built in USB but that doesn't appear to do anything so is probably faulty, I've never actually used the USB port and I've tried multiple cables and multiple devices. The bike has gone from loads of fun to deeply frustrating.

 

[vfr400]

Do what I said in post#7

 

[Shannow]

I've managed to get the battery down to 36.9v, but there is still no activity at the motor and nothing happens when I turn the pedals.

In the interim, I ordered an ebike testing unit from a popular auction site, partially out of curiosity, and tested the motor today, which all appears to be fine, I can see the hall sensors rotating around in what appears to be the correct sequence and the motor lights also flashing rapidly when I spin the wheel, so that's hopefully a positive sign.

The next step is to test the controller, which i will hopefully be able to do later this week, once I wire up the test cable.

Any other suggestions or advice on a 36v controller and LCD to replace the existing one? I have been doing some research and the Dapu website has the same LED as mine (http://www.dapumotors.com/id-20.html?t=en-us ), the DPLED-D, which makes me wonder is there is a Dapu JK3 inside the battery housing. I haven't taken that apart to check yet as I don't want to disturb anything more than I have to.

 

[vfr400]

I've managed to get the battery down to 36.9v, but there is still no activity at the motor and nothing happens when I turn the pedals.

In the interim, I ordered an ebike testing unit from a popular auction site, partially out of curiosity, and tested the motor today, which all appears to be fine, I can see the hall sensors rotating around in what appears to be the correct sequence and the motor lights also flashing rapidly when I spin the wheel, so that's hopefully a positive sign.

The next step is to test the controller, which i will hopefully be able to do later this week, once I wire up the test cable.

Any other suggestions or advice on a 36v controller and LCD to replace the existing one? I have been doing some research and the Dapu website has the same LED as mine (http://www.dapumotors.com/id-20.html?t=en-us ), the DPLED-D, which makes me wonder is there is a Dapu JK3 inside the battery housing. I haven't taken that apart to check yet as I don't want to disturb anything more than I have to.

Do what i said above!

 

[Shannow]

I have run the battery down further to 36.4v, which is less than the previous 36.9v which is less than the suggested 37v. This has been done off the bike.

Prior to reconnecting it, I have, as i have done at each time, shorted the connectors on the bike to discharge the capacitor in the controller which did spark. I waited a few minutes and then reconnected the battery to the bike.

I believe I have followed the instructions but there is still nothing when I turn the pedals. I can see the little light on the pedal sensor flashing but the motor doesn't engage.

Any further thoughts?

 

[vfr400]

The only other suggestion I have is that with some controllers you can select the voltage between 36v and 48v by way of a pair of jumper wires, which you either connect or disconnect. see if you have anything like that coming out of the controller.

 

[Shannow]

There's not a lot on the LED, just the 5 pin connector coming out, apart from that it's a sealed unit.

My gut feeling is it's fubar and i could spend weeks trying to diagnose it. I'm inclined to look at replacing the kit on there and perhaps putting a new rear hub setup on it. As i said previously, I purchased it as a refurb and it doesn't owe me anything. What it has done is proven I enjoy riding ebikes and it has even encouraged me to get back on a road bike. I'd like to get it working again as the frame is good and it deserves to be revitalised.

Looking at the battery unit on the frame, that houses the controller, the heads on the screws are stripped, i'd have to drill them out to get into the controller area, and that runs the risk of damaging the housing. At this point i'm open to suggestions to replace the lot, rear hub, rear wheel and LCD. It may sound drastic, but my spare time is finite and my priority now is getting a working bike again.

As an aside, and i have no idea if this is important or not, but I re-tested the motor using the ebike testing unit, it showed the hall sensors and motor sensors flashing when the wheel went backwards, but not forwards i.e. in the normal direction of travel. Given the limited instructions with the tester I have no idea if this is normal or not or if it is indicative of an issue with the motor.

Thank you for taking the time to respond, it is appreciated.

 

[vfr400]

There's not a lot on the LED, just the 5 pin connector coming out, apart from that it's a sealed unit.

My gut feeling is it's fubar and i could spend weeks trying to diagnose it. I'm inclined to look at replacing the kit on there and perhaps putting a new rear hub setup on it. As i said previously, I purchased it as a refurb and it doesn't owe me anything. What it has done is proven I enjoy riding ebikes and it has even encouraged me to get back on a road bike. I'd like to get it working again as the frame is good and it deserves to be revitalised.

Looking at the battery unit on the frame, that houses the controller, the heads on the screws are stripped, i'd have to drill them out to get into the controller area, and that runs the risk of damaging the housing. At this point i'm open to suggestions to replace the lot, rear hub, rear wheel and LCD. It may sound drastic, but my spare time is finite and my priority now is getting a working bike again.

As an aside, and i have no idea if this is important or not, but I re-tested the motor using the ebike testing unit, it showed the hall sensors and motor sensors flashing when the wheel went backwards, but not forwards i.e. in the normal direction of travel. Given the limited instructions with the tester I have no idea if this is normal or not or if it is indicative of an issue with the motor.

Thank you for taking the time to respond, it is appreciated.

I said on the controller, not the LCD. You have to open the compartment.

Hall sensors don't work forward because the motor is stationary. It has a freewheel.

 

[Shannow]

I've had to drill out the retaining screws on the battery pack to get to the controller and the whole thing is sealed in a plastic/set glue substance the full depth of the controller.

There are no markings on the controller.

 

[vfr400]

There's not much you can do with that. probably time for an external controller.

 

[Shannow]

I believe you are correct. Can you recommend one, I assume I will need to replace the LED to be compatible with a different controller?

The motor is a DAPU M123RD with waterproof just connectors.